Singapore, 02 May 2007 – Starting from today, over 20,000 students of Institute of Technical Education (ITE) will have their very own Reading Corners set up by the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Foundation at each of its 11 campuses.

With the Reading Corners, students will now have greater access to their favourite local newspapers, namely The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, The Business Times, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu.

"The Reading Corners provided generously by SPH Foundation will give more opportunities for ITE students to read and stay informed of current events locally and overseas. This is crucial as these students will be the future workforce of Singapore, working in a highly competitive global environment," said Mr Heng Guan Teck, ITE’s Deputy CEO (Academic).

Since its launch in November 2006, the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Foundation has committed close to S$150,000 in setting up Reading Corners in five polytechnics, six junior colleges and 11 ITE campuses across the island.

Through the Reading Corner project, the SPH Foundation hopes to promote lifelong learning and improve proficiency in English and the mother tongue among students, through newspaper reading.

“It’s heartening to know that both staff and students have benefited from our Reading Corner project. It is a testimony that the Reading Corner initiative by the Foundation has fulfilled its intended purpose. The greatest achievement is knowing that we have been able to play a part in cultivating and reviving the students’ interest in reading, and hopefully in the long run, this will help improve their proficiency in English and the mother tongue”, said Ms Ginney Lim, General Manager of SPH Foundation.

The SPH Foundation will continue to introduce the Reading Corner project to other tertiary institutions.

These are the participating institutions under the Reading Corner project as of 2 May 2007:

About the Singapore Press Holdings Foundation
The Singapore Press Holdings Foundation, a registered charity and an Institution of Public Character, was set up in January 2003 to help build a lifelong learning community that embraces language enrichment, creativity, diversity, healthy living and sports. The seed contribution of $20 million to the Foundation came from media group Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. For more information, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.sphfoundation.org.sg.